Comments on: Grime’s 5 Mile Road House, c1920s

By: Carol L. Cima

Carol L. Cima — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 05:43:29 +0000

This evening a question came up that maybe some one on here can answer. Was the JW Hook Bicycle repair first located on 81st? I remember they had a smaller shop on Stark in the late 60′s and then did a total remodel in the early 70′s when I believe they added space and expanded into a much larger shop. Thanks.

By: Dan Davis

Dan Davis — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 19:48:22 +0000

Thanks, Tad. My spam catcher stops most of these and I usually find the ones that get through. Not always, apparently.

By: Tad

Tad — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 18:56:50 +0000

Dan, please delete these spam comments – they are using the link in their username to game the Google ranking algorithm.

By: Carol L. Cima

Carol L. Cima — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 21:08:33 +0000

Thought I would add a bit more. The street car lines on 80th. May have been that previously but I remember in 1967 seeing the railroad cars brought in there and with a blockard to stop there. The railroad cars carried frieght to to the Dickson Drug Co. (where Country Cat restaurant in now) and to Montavilla Dept. Store on the south side of Stark and 80th. Another customer of the train delivered coal to Montavilla Coal Ice and Coal Co. 80th and Burnside. I have an ice pick from there. The ads on it state: “Pick Our Ice, From Bull Run Water” “We Sell King Coal and The Best Washington Coal”. (Yes, there was coal mining in Washington. My husband’s great- grandfather immigrated from Northern Italy and worked the coal mines around Roslyn, WA. in the late 1800′s early 1900′s) The phone number was TAbor3751 and their address was 408 SE 79th as printed on the pick. I am sure this was made before the streets were renamed after East Portland became part of Portland. The address on this would have been right in the middle of a residential block. They were still in business selling bark chips (for sawdust burner furnaces) and other things such as that into the mid to late 70′s. They were on the SE corner of Burnside and 80th.
Well now, given you more info that you were looking for! Thanks for this blog. Is so informative!

By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 08:14:22 +0000

Interesting, to say the least. But definitely not the 20′s. I have a picture looking west from the same location from approximately where 81st is from 1917. Livery stable was there, but the 5 mile appeared to be a hardware store at that time.

I also have a little phamplet from the Montavilla Centinnial from 1989. which has information, photo’s etc. some of the photographs I know at least two of the photographs are captioned with incorrect dates, but still a neat thing. I’d love to share it, but I don’t have a scanner, and don’t know if its available as a PDF or what.

If anyone out there can help, or offer suggestions, maybe?

By: Bud

Bud — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 20:06:52 +0000

This location is listed in the Nov. 1904 ” Telephone Directory of Portland, etc. Subscribers ” with a telephone number of Scott 23 for ” Five MIle Road House ” and the same number for William as an individual ……… one could assume that he and Mrs. Grimes lived upstairs .

By: Richard

Richard — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 18:55:00 +0000

Rod Taylor and others are correct in observing that this photo probably dates from an earlier period. A check of The Oregonian historical archives (courtesy of Mult. Co. Library) showed that a William Grimes operated a saloon known as the “Five Mile Road House” at this location in Montavilla from at least 1892 until about 1905. He had a long-running battle with the Anti-Saloon League and local county court over charges that he sold liquor without a license. Still, he managed to stay open until at least 1905. His wife Mrs. Grimes (widowed?) sold the property for $6,500 in 1910.

By: Karen

Karen — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 18:04:30 +0000

Right in our neighborhood……looks a little different almost 100 years later…….way to go bro!!!!

By: Tad

Tad — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 19:14:38 +0000

Great pic Dave, tires and trash notwithstanding.

I’ve been by there a 100 times and even read the Stark Street Markers blog but I never knew this was there.

By: Dave Brunker (@dbrunker)

Dave Brunker (@dbrunker) — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 19:11:14 +0000

Here’s a pic I took just a few hours ago http://twitpic.com/aujmnb

By: Elliott

Elliott — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 01:19:10 +0000

Jack and Jill’s said three miles east of Portland, not three miles east of downtown. There must have been a city limit somewhere on the east side.

By: David Johnson

David Johnson — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 01:13:11 +0000

So did Jack and Jill’s get it wrong at three miles out?